Palace twits 'that kid' Trump Jr. over Tubbataha

By Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines - The Palace dismissed an alleged tweet of the son of real estate tycoon Donald Trump reportedly belittling the importance of Tubbataha Reef.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the tweet of businessman Donald Trump Jr. did not come from a policymaker and that the Palace does not need to respond to each and every statement.

“That kid is not a policymaker. We don’t have to respond to each and every comment from somebody who just decides to say something… We know what should be done. Certainly, the US government, the Philippine government totally disagree with the position taken by that… I don’t know how old is that guy—the son of Mr. Trump. We don’t wanna comment on that,” Lacierda said.

Trump Jr. earlier said he is incensed with the decision to scrap the $277 million USS Guardian after it crashed into the Tubbataha Reef in Palawan.

In his Twitter account, Trump Jr. posted a link to a Washington Free Beacon article that said the US minesweeper will have to be cut up into small pieces in order to prevent the harming of the ocean’s ecosystem.